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How to Grow Alfalfa Sprouts

Fresh alfalfa sprouts are super easy to grow at home with a mason jar and a sprouting lid. This is the best method to always have fresh healthy sprouts!

I grew up eating alfalfa sprouts on my sandwiches and in my salads. Had I known it was this easy to grow them at home by following this recipe, I would have started years ago! I’ll walk you through the process, from buying the seeds to how to keep them fresh.

Perhaps my love of alfalfa sprouts started because I grew up in Southern California. They were as plentiful as avocado and citrus.

At some point along the way, alfalfa sprouts got a bad wrap because they are typically grown in warm moist conditions which happens to be an environment that bacteria also loves.

By growing the sprouts yourself, you control how clean their growing environment is, how well they are washed, and how quickly they are refrigerated.

Why this method works:

It’s cheap! A two pound bag of organic seeds will cost you less than $15 and it that will make about 160 cups of sprouts. Compare that to a $4 package of grown sprouts at the store.

This method is super easy. As long as you can remember to rinse them, the process requires no skill.

You can’t get any more fresh than growing alfalfa sprouts in your own kitchen. Instead of growing them out of state, packaging them in plastic, shipping them to your store, and you buying them when they’re starting to go bad, you can enjoy super fresh alfalfa sprouts year round.

How to grow alfalfa sprouts:

Before you start, you’ll need to obtain the seeds and the equipment. I use an organic sprouting seed mix that contains 70% alfalfa, 20% clover, 5% radish, and 5% broccoli. You will also need a wide mouth quart sized mason jar and a sprouting lid.

Add a heaping tablespoon of seeds to the jar, fill with room temperature water, and soak the seeds for at least a couple hours.

Drain the soaking liquid through the sprouting lid and shake out any excess water. Then rotate the jar to spread the seeds against the inner wall of the jar. Store the jar on it’s side out of direct sunlight.

2-3 times per day, repeat this process where you rinse the sprouts, drain out all the water, distribute the seeds the best you can, and then store the jar on it’s side. Depending on how warm your kitchen is, this process can take anywhere from 4-6 days.

Once the sprouts are done growing, transfer them to a large bowl and cover with cold water to rinse. This also makes it easy to separate the sprouts from the seed caps.

Grab the sprouts out of the bowl, shake off as much excess water, and set onto some paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to dry.

How to store:

Once you’ve removed as much water as possible, store them in a container in a refrigerator to keep them fresh. I use a glass storage container.

My sprouts last 5-7 days, but the best practice is to use them up quickly.

If they ever look slimy or have a bad smell, don’t eat them and start a new batch.

Did you find this post helpful? Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments below!

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Add seeds to your mason jar and secure sprouting lid. Fill with room temperature water and allow seeds to soak for 2-4 hours.

Drain out water, gently shaking to remove any excess. Roll wet seeds around in jar so that they stick to the walls of the jar in a thin layer. Store jar on it's side out of direct sunlight.

2-3 times per day, fill the jar with room temperature water, swirl, drain, and redistribute the seeds the best you can to spread them out within the jar. Store jar on it's side out of direct sunlight and continue process until sprouts have fully grown.

After 5-6 days, sprouts should be fully grown with dark green leaves and white roots. Empty contents of jar into large bowl of water to separate the sprouts from the seed cover. Use your hand to remove the sprouts from the water, shake off any excess water, and allow to air dry on paper towels or clean kitchen towel for about an hour.

Store in container in the refrigerator.

Notes

Makes approximately 4 cups of sprouts. Serving size based on 1 cup.

Because they take so long to grow, I usually have a second batch started once the first batch is halfway done.